“He’ll blow it if he doesn’t know. Sebastian, this will kill him, and we need him.”
“That’s a bad idea, Ava.”
She curled her fingers into fists. “I don’t care. I’m not going to do this to him. He’ll be devastated.”
Silence stretched between them as he refused to give in. She tossed her hands in the air. “Fine. I’m going home.”
She stepped toward the door when he stopped her. “No, Ava, can’t let you do that.”
“We need to tell Alex,” she said firmly. “I’m not doing this without telling him—it’s non-negotiable.”
“Ava…”
“Sebastian,” she said, laying a hand on his arm, “you need to start trusting us. We can do this. We can take them down but not when you’re trying to control everything including me.”
He slid his eyes closed before he popped them open, glancing up at her. “I need you to swear on your life and his that we will take them down.”
“I swear. We’ll do this. But we need Alex.”
He dug into his pocket and pulled out a phone. “This is a burner. Untraceable. I hope you know his number.”
She snatched it from him. “Of course, I do.”
After dialing the number, she let the line trill, wondering if the news of her demise had hit the Hamptons yet. She paced the floor, the boards creaking under her weight until she heard him pick up, his voice a slurred murmur.
“Ace?”
No one answered her.
“Alex? Are you there?”
The line remained silent before it finally went dead. She pulled the phone from her ear, staring down at it with confusion. “What the hell?”
“Maybe he hung up on you because you’re dead.”
“That’s funny, Sebastian. Really cute.” She tried to dial him again, but Sebastian ripped the phone from her hands.
“No more. We can’t afford for you to get caught.”
She stared at him, her features incredulous. “Then you have to tell him.”
He scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“Sebastian, you have to do this. Alex needs to know. You have to tell him.”
He pressed his lips together, shaking his head before he met her gaze again. “Fine. I’ll handle it. But you need to stay here and out of sight. Ava Collins is dead. That’s what the world has to think.”
He shoved the phone back in his pocket before he stepped toward the door. “Promise me, Ava.”
She raised her hands in the air, showing her defeat. “I’ll stay here.”
He bobbed his head as he stepped toward the door, tugging it open.
She called after him. “Sebastian?”
“Yeah,” he asked, twisting back to face her.
“Thanks,” she murmured, still reeling from the revelations.
